> Dear Scott Woods, I know this is late but you might find the suggestion useful. I have found it useful to borrow the arrangement Francis Christensen employs in 'Notes Toward a New Rhetoric' (see for example, pp. 9-13). Students draw four vertical lines down the page on the left-hand side, each slightly further in from the margin. Such a page can then be used both for analysis of the sentences of given passages (as well as of the structure of paragraphs themselves -- see pp. 68-9), and for the writing of their own pieces. With you, I have found Virginia Tufte's books immensely helpful on the grammar/rhetoric issue -- I am referring not only to 'Artful Sentences' but also to her earlier 'Grammar and Style'. They are wonderful books; no one could protest that grammar has little to do with good writing after reading them. Edmond Wright Dr. Edmond Wright 3 Boathouse Court Trafalgar Road Cambridge CB4 1DU England Email: [log in to unmask] Website: http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk/elw33/ Phone [00 44] (0)1223 350256 Dear List: > > I want to test a technique involving grammar for its effectiveness in > improving reading comprehension. Please let me know what you think of my > design and if you have any suggestions for related research. > > I want to test the whether breaking prose into grammatical chunks and > arranging those chunks on the page to show their relationships improves > reading comprehension. The basic idea is that if students can see the pattern > of phrases and clauses in sentences, then they will better understand the > passage. > > Using brief passages with multiple choice questions, each student will read > some passages in normal prose and others in what I call "graphic syntax," text > with the phrase and clause structure made clearer. Half the students will do > one set, the odd numbers, say, in normal text and the evens in graphic syntax; > the other half will do the evens in normal text and the odds in graphic > syntax. Thus, every passage and question will have a control group, but the > students themselves don't have to be controlled. I will compare the error > rate on each set to see if there is any large difference. > > The group would be 112 seventh graders whose median reading percentile is 91 > and median language arts percentile is 95. > > I did this experiment last year and found a slight difference in favor of the > experimental condition, but I let students take as much time as they needed > and refer back to the text. This time, I will have them read the passage > under timed conditions, then turn the page and answer the questions under > timed conditions. This should more closely mimic the real conditions of > normal reading, where one does not go back to the text to find information to > specific questions. Time pressure highlights the difference between solid > performance and superior performance. > > A related experiment would include a control group which does not know much > about formal grammar and a group which does, that is, which has studied and > can name and create the phrases and clauses into which the text is divided. > This condition would test the utility of teaching students to name and create > phrases and clauses as an aide to reading comprehension. > > Any suggestions for changes, clarification, sources? > > Thanks, > Scott Woods > > > > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/